National
• Gujarat Assembly has passed the Gujarat Animal Preservation (Amendment) Bill, 2017 to amend Gujarat Animal Preservation Act, 1954.
• The Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IITM) and Indian Army have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to identify the critical technological areas that can be enhanced in the armed forces.
• Drug price regulator National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has increased price of stents by around 2% after taking into account wholesale price index.
• The North Western Railway has declared the Barmer-Munawab and Pipad Road-Bilara rail routes in Rajasthan as Green Corridors. With this total number of green corridors has increased to three.
• The Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways and Shipping, Nitin Gadkari inaugurated a new child care centre in Mumbai for children who have cancer.
• The Union Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu released a book on the Indian Railways &ndash ‘Indian Railway-The weaving of a National Tapestry’.
• The Union Government has launched the Online Vigilance Clearance System and e-Service Book in New Delhi. It was launched by Union Minister Jitendra Singh in New Delhi.
• The Union Civil Aviation Ministry has announced regional aviation routes and airlines after the first round of bidding under UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) Scheme.
• The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has launched two mobile applications e-challan and m-parivahan to provide a comprehensive digital solution for enforcement of traffic rules.
• The President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the Namami Brahmaputra festival in Guwahati, Assam.
• The Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar announced that the state government would be providing a subsidy on power bill to the consumers instead of power companies from the 2017-18 fiscal year.
• The Union Finance Ministry has lowered interest rates on all nine small saving schemes by 0.1% for the April-June quarter as compared to January-March quarter.
• India has signed its first loan agreement with the New Development Bank (NDB)/BRICS Bank for $350 million to be used in the development and upgradation of district roads in Madhya Pradesh.
• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved removal of all quantitative ceilings on individual organic products and allowed unrestricted exports of all organic and organic processed products.
• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has given its approval for amendment in Para 5 of New Urea Policy (NUP), 2015.
• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved amendments in the Mega Power Policy, 2009 to push 31 GW stranded projects entailing an investment of Rs 1.5 lakh crore.
• Amazon.com Inc., the USA based e-commerce giant, acquired Souq.com, the Middle East’s largest online retailer. However, the deal’s specific value was not announced.
• The Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) commissioned a 800 MW supercritical thermal power plant in Raichur District of Karnataka.
• Central America’s smallest nation El Salvador became first country in the world to ban metal mining nationwide.
• India declared its 'Association' status with the International Energy Agency (IEA). In this regard, Union Minister of Power & Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal handed over the formal letter to Fatih Birol, Executive Director of IEA.
• The Union Cabinet has given its approval for ratification of two fundamental conventions of International Labour Organization (ILO) concerning with Child Labour.
• The Union Cabinet approved signing of an agreement between the Union Ministry of Rural Development and Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP) for establishment of CIRDAP Centre at National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRD&PR), Hyderabad.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Chenani-Nashri Tunnel, country’s longest road tunnel that links Kashmir Valley with Jammu by an all-weather route.
• The Indian Institute of Sciences (IISc), Bengaluru was adjudged as the best Indian university in the 2017 National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) released by Union Human Resource Development Ministry.
• The Union Cabinet approved for signing of an MoU between the Forum of Regulators (FOR) and the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) in the area of large-scale Grid Integration of Renewable Energy.
• Government has formally launched Bharat Stage-IV (BS-IV) grade transportation fuel across the country to keep carbon emission in check.
• The Union Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises has withdrawn subsidy given to mild hybrid vehicles under FAME India (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric vehicles in India) scheme.
• India and Malaysia have inked seven agreements to foster deeper relationship between the two countries.
• The Union Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment has launched Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana in Nellore District of Andhra Pradesh.
• The number of beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana for providing free of cost LPG (cooking gas) connections to BPL households has crossed 2 crore mark since its launch in May 2016.
• 26-year-old Omkar Modgi’s maiden short film ‘Avyakta’ (Unexpressed) has been shortlisted for the 2017 Cannes Film Festival.
• The Union Cabinet approved closure of the Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Suraksha Yojana (MGPSY). The scheme was set up in 2012 to address the social security-related issues of the Emigration Check Required (ECR) category workers going abroad for employment to ECR countries.
• The Union Cabinet has approved the agreement on Audio Visual Co-Production India and Bangladesh.
• The Union Cabinet has approved the MoU on Cooperation in the field of Mass Media between India and Bangladesh.
• The Union Cabinet has cleared approved setting up an independent rail regulator, named Rail Development Authority (RDA).
• The Union Cabinet approved the signing of air services agreement (ASA) between India and Georgia.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stones of several development projects including a multi-modal terminal and a four-lane bridge over River Ganga at Sahebganj in Jharkhand.
• The Indian navy has deployed its warship Indian Naval Ship (INS) Shardul for two months in the South Indian Ocean to provide surveillance support in the region.
• India has signed a joint statement with Russia takeover full operational control of Unit 1 of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP). It formally marks the full transition.
• The Madhya Pradesh government is all set to launch Deendayal Antyodaya Rasoi Yojana in its districts.
• The three-day National Children’s Film Festival (NCFF) was inaugurated by the Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting and Urban Development, M Venkaiah Naidu in Vishakhapatnam.
• Israel signed about USD two billion deal with India to supply advanced missile defence systems, bolstering bilateral military ties.
• The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has launched web portal and mobile application named “Bharat ke Veer” to enable people to contribute towards family of martyrs from central paramilitary forces.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated an exhibition titled "Swachhagraha – Bapu Ko Karyanjali – Ek Abhiyan, Ek Pradarshani" in New Delhi mark the 100 years (centenary year) of Champaran Satyagraha.
• The Lok Sabha has passed the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2016 by a voice vote to give more thrust to road safety, controlling pollution and accidents.
• Parliament has passed the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order (Amendment) Bill 2017 after it was passed by Rajya Sabha. It was already passed by Lok Sabha in March 2017.
• Lok Sabha has passed Constitution 123rd Amendment Bill, 2017 which seeks to give constitutional status to National Commission for Backward Classes.
• The Survey of India (SOI) has launched new web portal called Nakshe to make open series maps available to Indians for free.
• Parliament has passed the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) (Prevention and Control) Bill, 2017.
• The Union Ministry of Food Processing is going to launch Scheme for Agro-Marine Produce Processing and Development of Agro-Processing Clusters (SAMPADA) for food processing sector.
• The Committee, constituted to prepare draft Ganga Act, submitted its report to the Union Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation. The Chairman of the committee is Justice Girdhar Malviya (Retd), who is associated with Ganga conservation movement.
• The Union Ministry of Power has launched URJA MITRA app for empowering citizens by real time information sharing on power supply.
• The Union Ministry of Labour & Employment has launched Aadhaar Seeding Application for efficient service delivery and widening the reach of Employees Provident Fund (EPF) benefits.
• Jharkhand Police has initiated Tare Zameen Par programme to enlighten children in Naxal-affected areas in the Palamau district of Jharkhand.
• Similar to that of Uttar Pradesh’s ‘anti-romeo squad’, the Haryana government has launched ‘Operation Durga’ to ensure women safety in the state.
• The Uttar Pradesh government has signed “Power for All” pact with the Centre to provide 24×7 power supply to all the households in the State.
• The Telangana legislature has passed the Telangana Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions and of Appointments or Posts in the Services under the State) Bill, 2017, that seeks to raise substantially the reservation for backward Muslims and scheduled tribes.
• IIT Kharagpur plans to introduce Vastu Shashtra to the architecture students from this year August.
• Naval Ship ‘INS Chennai’, a ‘P15A Guided Missile Destroyer’, was dedicated to Chennai in the presence of the chief minister of Tamil Nadu and the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command.
• The Ministry of Women and Child Development in collaboration with the Ministry of Panchayati Raj has launched a nationwide programme for capacity building of Elected Women Representatives (EWRs) of Panchayats and a training program for Trainers of women panchayat leaders at Ranchi, Jharkhand.
• Prime Minister felicitated the descendants of 16 families associated with Paika Rebellion of 1817 and other freedom struggles of Odisha in Bhubaneswar.
• The India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) has predicted a normal monsoon this year with a rainfall of 96% of the long-period average (LPA).
• The Union Cabinet has put a ban on the use of red beacons atop cars of VIPs. Only three categories were exempted from the ban. They are the President, Vice-President and Chief Justice of India.
• The Union Cabinet has cleared the Election Commission’s proposal to buy new Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines.
• The Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) at Shamshabad has been given the carbon neutrality status by Airports Council International (ACI) under its Airport Carbon Accreditation programme.
• ISRO is all set to undertake the first developmental flight of a ‘game-changer’ rocket (launching vehicle) that will have the capacity to launch four-tonne class of satellites, from Sriharikota spaceport.
• The union government has extended the ceasefire with the two Naga armed factions, namely, National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Reformation (NSCN-R) and National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Neakpao-Kithovi (GPRN/NSCN) till April 27, 2018.
• The Supreme Court in its latest ruling has set 25% of the net salary as the maintenance to be paid by a husband to his estranged wife.
• Bar Council of India (BCI) has called for a nationwide stir against what they allege as the undemocratic provisions of the Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2017.
• The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has recently carried out first-of-its-kind State-level mock exercise on forest fire.
• MGNREGA has reached a major milestone by geotagging one crore assets created under it. The geotagged assets have been put in public domain.
• Uttar Pradesh has decided to establish 40 Yoga wellness centres in 40 districts across the state in the present financial year.
• India’s first and longest ropeway is planned to be constructed by the Mumbai Port Trust to link Mumbai with the famous Elephanta Island in the Arabian Sea.
• According to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri), India has become world’s fifth-largest military spender spending at $55.9 billion in 2016.
• In a first, the Uttarakhand Forest Department has deployed three drones for real-time monitoring of the forest fires.
• Northeast’s sixth and largest hub for information technology has been inaugurated in Agartala.
• The central government has informed the Supreme Court that it intends to provide unique identification number for cows as suggested by an expert committee to track cattle and prevent their trafficking.
• In order to give more freedom to farmers to sell their produce, the agriculture ministry has unveiled “The State/UT Agricultural Produce and Livestocks Marketing (promotion and facilitation) Act, 2017” which has defined each state/UT as a single unified market area.
• The international conference on “Dara Shikoh: Reclaiming Spiritual Legacy of India” will be held on April 27 and 28.
• Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management-Kerala (IIITM-K) has launched an application named Kaapi Soil Health Management and Monitoring (Kshemam) app to provide soil nutrient information and fertiliser recommendation for coffee plantation owners.
• Joint operational doctrine aimed at providing deeper operational synergies among the tri-services was unveiled by the chairman of the chiefs of staff committee (COSC) and Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba in presence of Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat and IAF Chief B S Dhanoa.
• ISRO has launched a solar calculator app that can calculate the benefits of installing solar panels in different regions of the country.
• The International Road federation (IRF) has named India to be the host of the 18th World Road Meeting (WRM 2017).
• The government has announced the names of ten new Iconic places under the Phase II of Swachh Iconic Places initiative.
• The Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has planned to build a new oil terminal at Motihari in Bihar to supply fuel to Nepal via the planned pipeline up to Amlekganj in Nepal.
• Bhubaneswar has become the first Indian city to win Pierre L’enfant International Planning excellence award-2017 instituted by the American Planning Association (APA).
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) scheme from Jubbarhatti, an airport on the outskirts of Shimla. ‘Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik’ means ‘the common man flies’.
• Poland has assured its support for India’s bid for membership in the elite Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and a permanent seat in the expanded UN Security Council.
• Union Health Minister JP Nadda has launched the Test and Treat policy for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) patients.
• The Home Ministry has planned to raise an all-woman India Reserve Battalion (IRB) in Jammu and Kashmir.
• The Ministry of Human Resources and Development has put on hold the plan for conducting a single entrance test for admission to engineering courses throughout the country till a consensus is reached with the states.
International
• Myanmar became the 7th member of South Asia Sub-regional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) program of Asian Development Bank (ADB).
• The Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau announced on 3 April 2017 that the youngest Nobel laureate, Malala Yousafzai, will be addressing the country’s parliament on 12 April 2017.
• Japan has officially recognized bitcoin and digital currencies as legal money along the lines of other fiat currencies with effect from April 1, 2017.
• India was ranked third for the third year in a row in a doping violation report published by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for 2015.
• The Union Cabinet has approved the MoU between India and Australia on cooperation in the field of Health and Medicine.
• South Korea successfully test-fired a home-developed ballistic missile on 6 April 2017. The missile, with a range of 800 km is long enough to hit any part of North Korea.
• Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn signed a military-backed Constitution of the country into a law.
• The youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner, Malala Yousafzai will be appointed as the youngest United Nations Messenger of Peace on 10 April 2017.
• According to EY Europe, Middle East, India and Africa (EMEIA) Fraud Survey 2017, India ranks 9th among 41 surveyed countries in bribery and corrupt practices in businesses.
• The twelfth edition Indo-Mongolian Joint Military Exercise Nomadic Elephant 2017 has begun at Vairengte in Mizoram.
• India and Bangladesh have signed 22 agreements in various fields such as defence, nuclear cooperation, judicial sector, earth sciences, navigation, peaceful uses of outer space, to boost bilateral cooperation.
• The first rail freight service from United Kingdom to China departed from Essex. Earlier the first freight train in the opposite direction, from China to UK had arrived in London in January 2017.
• Pakistan’s Field General Court Martial has sentenced to death Indian national and alleged RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) agent Kulbhushan Jadhav (46) who was arrested last year on charges of spying.
• India and Georgia signed a Joint Statement on the launching of the Joint Feasibility Study on the bilateral Free Trade Agreement.
• The Union Cabinet has approved signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for Establishment of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Grid Interconnection”.
• The Amnesty International released the Death Penalty Report 2016. As per the report, at least 1,032 people were executed in 23 countries in 2016. In 2015, Amnesty International recorded 1,634 executions in 25 countries worldwide.
• The G20 Digital Ministerial Meeting on Digital Economy was held in Dusseldorf, Germany. Ministers responsible for the digital economy from G20 countries had participated in it.
• India and Australia have launched India-Australia Sports Partnership (IASP) with a vision of increasing cooperation in sports.
• Nepal and China is all set to hold their first ever joint military exercise named ‘Sagarmatha Friendship-2017’ from April 17 to April 26.
• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won the referendum on granting him sweeping new powers by a clear majority.
• Donald Trump has signed an executive order to enforce and review the H-1B visa programme.
• Chinese President Xi Jinping has announced a restructure of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) with an aim to make it as a leaner fighting force with enhanced joint operations capability.
• India has contributed USD 2,50,000 to the UN Election Assistance Division to help other countries to hold elections and develop their electoral systems.
• Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has made sweeping changes to Citizenship laws unveiling tighter requirements for new applicants.
• Five prominent Madhesi parties in Nepal have united to form a new united party named the Rastriya Janata Party, which will be the fifth largest party in Nepal’s Parliament.
• Pakistan has leased the operations of its strategic Gwadar port to a State-run Chinese firm, the China Overseas Port Holding Company (COPHC) for a period of 40 years.
• A freight train connecting Russia with China arrived in Ganzhou an inland city in Jiangxi province, carrying goods from Moscow.
• China has successfully docked its first cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-1 with the Tiangong-2 space lab. It is hailed as a major step towards China’s ambition of establishing a permanently manned space station by 2022.
• Guided by the mutual will to develop friendly relations, Cuba and Morocco has signed an agreement to re-establish diplomatic ties after a time period of 37 years.
• Astronaut Peggy Whitson has set a new space record for most days in space by a US astronaut. She has broken the previous record set by Jeff Williams who had spent a total of 534 days in space.
• The World Health Organization has announced that it is ready to test the first malaria vaccine in the real world setting in 2018.
• China has launched its first indigenously built aircraft carrier following the 68th-anniversary celebrations of the founding of the Chinese navy. It is China’s second aircraft carrier built in the north-eastern port of Dalian.
• US President Donald Trump has introduced biggest tax reform plan in the history of United States.
• UNESCO to screen Rahul V. Chittella’s short film “Azaad” as a part of World Press Freedom Day event that is scheduled to be held from May 1-4 in Jakarta, Indonesia.
• The US Trade Representative’s (USTR) office has once again placed India on the ‘priority watch’ list in this year’s Special 301 report despite the country rolling out National IPR Policy last year.
Business and Economy
• The Union Ministry of Textiles has launched PowerTex India, a three-year comprehensive scheme for Powerloom Sector Development.
• Five associates and the Bharatiya Mahila Bank have officially merged with country’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI).
• The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) of the Union Defence Ministry has approved proposal to procure fresh batch of Barak surface-to-air missiles (SAM) for the Indian Navy’s warships from Israel.
• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved extension of the implementation phase of the Crime and Criminals Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) Project for another year beyond 31 March 2017.
• The board of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cleared a proposal to introduce banknotes of Rs200 denomination.
• The Union Cabinet has given its approval for signing of the Collaborative Agreement with French National Research Agency (ANR), France.
• The Union Ministry of Rural Development released Rs 23443.09 Cr to the states, as the first instalment for the financial year 2017-18 under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).
• India’s largest online retailer Flipkart raised a total fund of USD 1.4 billion from China’s Tencent, US-based e-commerce firm eBay and software maker Microsoft.
• The Digital wallet company Paytm in April 2017 announced the launch of new feature QR code on its Paytm Mall application. This QR code will allow consumers to place online orders at physical stores.
• The Bank Board Bureau (BBB) has recommended that Government should bring in reforms in the compensation process in public sector banks (PSBs) on the lines of Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs).
• Beginning from May 1, Oil PSUs have decided to change petrol and diesel prices every day in synchronisation with international rates similar to what is practiced in advanced markets.
• Cab safety measures for women commuters as recommended by the Ministry of Women and Child Development to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and Shipping (MoRTH) have been included in the new Taxi Policy guidelines.
• Loans disbursed under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) have crossed its target of Rs 1.8 lakh crore in the financial year 2016-17.
• The Department of Post has allotted a unique pin code for the Income Tax Department’s Central Processing Centre (CPC) based in Bengaluru so as to ensure that the letters and mails sent by taxpayers to the CPC are not lost or reach the centre late.
• The Income Tax department has launched the second phase of the ‘Operation Clean Money’ to investigate over 60,000 individuals with an aim to detect black money generation post demonetisation.
• The advertising industry watchdog Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has come up with a set of guidelines for celebrities endorsing products.
• Prime Minister has launched BHIM-Aadhaar platform from Nagpur. BHIM-Aadhaar platform is the merchant interface of the BHIM App that has been launched for making digital payments using the Aadhaar platform.
• Prime Minister has launched 81 cashless/less cash townships across 12 states in Nagpur.
• India Licensing Expo is scheduled to be held on August 20-21 in Mumbai. The expo will be India’s first and most influential brand licensing event that will collate opportunities, knowledge and recognitions under one roof.
• The Government has stated that 14 scholarship schemes for Scheduled Castes and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) / Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-nomadic Tribes (DNTs) students come under Digital Payments Initiatives.
• The Andhra Pradesh state government has formulated guidelines for a market intervention exercise to help red chilli farmers in the state who are in a great distress due to the price crash in the market yard, which is the biggest in the state and the country.
• In a new World Bank report titled Globalization Backlash, the agency expects India’s gross domestic product to spike to 7.2% in the financial year 2017-18 from 6.8% the previous fiscal.
• The Union Cabinet has approved the policy guidelines to permit financially sound State Government entities to borrow directly from bilateral ODA (Official development Assistance) partners for the purpose of implementing vital infrastructure projects.
• The Central Government has raised Rs. 1,200 crore by divesting 9.2% of paid-up capital in National Aluminum Company Ltd. (NALCO).
• Ministry of Food and Consumer Affairs has approved the ‘Guidelines on Fair Trade Practices Related to Charging of Service Charge from Consumers by Hotels and Restaurants’.
• The World Bank has approved a loan of $375 million (around Rs 2,421 crore) for capacity augmentation of National Waterway-1 (NW-1) between Haldia in West Bengal and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh on the river Ganga under the Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP).
• A MoU has been signed between India and South Korea for defence industry cooperation in shipbuilding.
• India has become world’s second largest LPG importer, a position that was previously occupied by Japan. China remains as the world’s top importer.
• According to the Reserve Bank of India’s weekly statistical supplement, India’s foreign exchange (Forex) reserves have increased by $1.25 billion to reach $371.13 billion from $369.88 billion as on April 21, 2017.
• The country’s first electric taxi trial in the country would be launched in Nagpur from May 24.
• A tripartite Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between BBNL, Department of Posts and BSNL to provide broadband connectivity of BharatNet to Post Offices in rural areas. BSNL would provide broadband services.
Science and Technology
• A team of scientists from Raman Research Institute, Bengaluru and University of Delhi for the first time have seen indications of a massive planet orbiting a low mass X-ray binary star system.
• Scientists from Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have identified a soil fungus Aspergillus tubingensis that uses enzymes to rapidly break down plastic materials. The plastic-eating fungus was found Islamabad, Pakistan.
• Scientists from the University of Kerala have discovered a new species of long-legged, tree-dwelling crabs named Kani maranjandu in Western Ghats of Kerala.
• Scientists have for the first time detected atmosphere around an Earth-like planet beyond our solar system.
• The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) report was published in April 2017 in medical journal The Lancet.
• Department of Science and Technology (DST) has launched Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) programme dealing with self-driven cars, autonomous unmanned vehicles and aircraft navigation systems.
• The Union Agriculture Ministry has joined hands with the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), a wing of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for geo-tagging agricultural assets.
• Astronomers using NASA’s Kepler space telescope have discovered a Venus-like planet orbiting a dim star called Kepler-1649.
• Scientists from Boston University School of Medicine, US have discovered a protein called PorB that could help make vaccinations more effective and provide protection from diseases such as cancer.
• The High Energy Accelerator Research Organisation (KEK) completed the ‘rolling-in’ of the Belle-II experiment in Tsukuba, Japan.
• Astronomers have discovered yet another planet, called LHS1140b, which is expected to be present in the Goldilocks Zone. It’s not so far away, either.
• Recently, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft completed its final close flyby of Saturn’s moon Titan and has now started its final set of 22 orbits before plunging into Saturn on September 15, 2017, and thus completing its 20-year long journey.
• Researchers have created a fluid-filled transparent container called the Biobag to simulate how foetuses float in amniotic fluid inside the uterus of their mothers.
New Appointments
• Diplomat Vipul on 3 April 2017 took charge as the new Consul General of Dubai. Vipul is a 1998 batch Indian Foreign Service officer.
• B P Kanungo took over as the Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
• Indian Police Service officer Geetha Johri was appointed as the first woman Director General of Police (DGP) of Gujarat. She will be taking over this position in addition to her present post as Managing Director of Gujarat Police Housing Corporation.
• Aliza Knox, Twitter’s head of Asia-Pacific business announced her retirement from the company.
• The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) announced the appointment of Raman Roy its Chairman for 2017-2018. He will take on the new role from 6 April 2017.
• Indian-origin Anuja Ravindra Dhir became the first non-white judge of the Old Bailey Court of London. She is also the youngest circuit judge currently to sit at the court.
• Mukta Dutta Tomar appointed as India's Ambassador to Federal Republic of Germany. She is expected to take up the assignment shortly.
• Justice Gita Mittal, the senior-most judge of Delhi High Court, has been appointed as the acting Chief justice of Delhi High Court with effect from April 14.
• IPS officer Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar has been appointed as the Director-General of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
Awards
• Colson Whitehead’s celebrated novel The Underground Railroad has won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for fiction.
• Veteran filmmaker and actor Kasinadhuni Viswanath has been conferred Dadasaheb Phalke award for 2016 by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.
• Social activist Prafulla Samantra was announced one among six winners of the Goldman Environmental Prize for his “historic 12-year legal battle that affirmed the indigenous Dongria Kondh’s land rights and protected the Niyamgiri Hills from a massive, open-pit aluminum ore mine.”
• Hindi film ‘Newton’ has won the Jury Prize for Best Film at the Hong Kong International Film Festival.
• Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilisers and Chemicals Ltd (GNFC) has won the prestigious Golden Globe Tigers Award for Excellence and Leadership in CSR for the year 2017 in the category of ‘E-Payment Leadership’.
Sports
• The adjudicatory chamber of the independent Ethics Committee of the FIFA banned Brayan Jimenez, the former President of the Guatemalan Football Association (FENAFUTG) for life.
• India’s ace batsman Virat Kohli was named the Leading Cricketer in the World for 2016.
• The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has granted affiliation to the Boxing Federation of India (BFI). The affiliation that ended the long-standing impasse between the two bodies was granted after months of discussions.
• Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton on 9 April 2017 won the 2017 Chinese Grand Prix ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen.
• Gayatri Gopichand, daughter of National Badminton coach Pullela Gopichand, has bagged both the singles and doubles crown at the Pembangunan Jaya Raya Junior Grand Prix in Jakarta.
• Sai Praneeth defeated the world No 29 Kidambi Srikanth in an all-Indian men’s singles final and clinched Singapore Open Superseries badminton title.
• The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) will feature Video gaming as a full sport at the 2022 Asian Games.
• Haryana emerged champion beating Kerala at the National Youth Athletics Meet. Kerala was at the top place for the last five years. Haryana emerged champions with 166.5 points. Kerala has finished as the runners-up.
• Rafael Nadal has once again won the Monte Carlo Masters for a record 10th time with a 6-1 6-3 victory over Albert Ramos-Vinolas.
• Shot putter Manpreet Kaur broke her own 2015 national record at the Asian Grand Prix in Jinhua, China. Her performance in the event has helped her to earn a gold medal and qualify for the World Championships to be held in London in August 2017.
Death
• Kishori Amonkar, the renowned Hindustani classical vocalist, passed away in Mumbai. She was 84.
• Robert Taylor, a pioneer of Modern Computing and the Internet has passed away at the age of 85.
• Emma Morano, the world’s oldest woman has passed away in Italy at the age of 117.
• Veteran actor and politician Vinod Khanna has expired at the age of 70. He was said to be suffering from cancer. Khanna is married twice and is survived by four children.
Special Days
• The World Autism Awareness Day 2017 was observed across the world on 2 April 2017. The 2017 theme for the day is Toward Autonomy and Self-Determination.
• International Day of Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action was observed on 4 April 2017 across the world. The theme of the year 2017 is Needs driven. People Centred.
• International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP) was observed across the world on 6 April 2017.
• The World Homeopathy Day is observed every year on April 10 to pay tribute to Dr. Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann, founder and father of Homeopathy system of medicine.
• World Health Day is being observed on 7 April 2017 with theme 'Depression: Let's Talk.
• Earth Day is celebrated every year on April 22. It was first celebrated in 1970, and since then it is celebrated in more than 193 countries by over a billion people every year.
• In India, April 24th is celebrated as National Panchayati Raj Diwas every year. This day marks the passing of the Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 that came into force with effect from 24 April 1993.
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